The Burke Library Archives, Columbia University Libraries, Union Theological Seminary, New York Union Theological Seminary Archives 1 Finding Aid for Charles Augustus Briggs Papers, 1841 – 1913 Credit to: UTS Records Series 18 Faculty Photographs, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York. Finding Aid prepared by: Margaret M. McGuinness, 1981; additions by Ruth Mary Pollack, 1985 Revised by Audrey Walton, Simon Taylor, Todd Willison 2013 Revised with additions by Ruth Tonkiss Cameron, 2014 Reviewed and updated by Brigette C. Kamsler, February 2015 with financial support from the Henry Luce Foundation Summary Information Creator: Charles Augustus Briggs, 1841-1913 and Emilie Grace Briggs Title: Charles Augustus Briggs Papers Inclusive dates: 1841-1913 Bulk dates: 1869-1913 Abstract: Presbyterian pastor, Union Theological Seminary professor of Hebrew and Cognate Languages, of Biblical Theology, of Theological Encyclopedia and Symbolics, Episcopal priest. Interests in Old Testament, Hebrew and cognate languages, biblical criticism. Trained in Germany, helped to introduce historical criticism to America and was brought to heresy trial by Presbyterian Church. Materials include correspondence, writings, personal documents, heresy trials coverage. Size: 62 boxes, 45 horizontal boxes, 1 Oversize box, 85.25 linear feet Storage: Onsite storage Repository: The Burke Library Union Theological Seminary 3041 Broadway New York, NY 10027 Email: [email protected] UTS1: Charles Augustus Briggs Papers, 1841 – 1913 2 Administrative Information Provenance: Emilie Grace Briggs, eldest daughter of Charles Augustus, donated the majority of her father’s papers to the library at Union Theological Seminary, now The Burke library, on a series of occasions before her death in 1944. Occasional additions up to 1985 appear to have been made in the form of transfers of archival items which had earlier formed part of the library's general collection in the book stacks. Access: Archival papers are available to registered readers for consultation by appointment only. Please contact archives staff by email to [email protected], or by postal mail to The Burke Library address on page 1, as far in advance as possible Burke Library staff is available for inquiries or to request a consultation on archival or special collections research. Access Restrictions: The collection is unrestricted to readers. Certain materials, however, are in a fragile condition, and this may necessitate restriction in handling and copying. Preferred Citation: Item description, UTS1: Charles Augustus Briggs Papers, 1841-1914, series #, subseries #, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York. Biography Charles Augustus Briggs was born on January 15, 1841 in New York City, son of businessman Alanson Tuthill Briggs and Sarah Mead Berrian. He studied at the University of Virginia from 1857-1860 where he experienced a conversion. After joining New York’s Seventh Regiment in Washington DC for a few months during the Civil War, Briggs then attended Union Theological Seminary, where he was taught by renowned faculty such as Edward Robinson and Henry Boynton Smith. In 1863 he left seminary to manage the Briggs family business, the largest barrel-making company in the USA, during an extended period of his father‘s ill-health. Briggs married Julie Valentine Dobbs in 1865 and they had 7 children, five of whom were alive at the time of Charles Brigg’s death in 1913: Emilie Grace Briggs, Agnes Briggs (Mrs Philip Ketteridge), Alanson Tuthill Briggs, Herbert Wilfrid Briggs and Olive M. Briggs. He was licensed to preach by the First Presbytery of New York in April 1866 and in June of that year he and his wife traveled to Berlin where he studied for his doctorate at the University of Berlin with leading theologians and proponents of historical critical scholarship such as Isaac A. Dorner. He was later to recall Dorner in Berlin and Henry B. Smith at Union as the scholars and friends who were pivotal influences in his life. Returning to the United States in 1869, he was called to be the first pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Roselle, New Jersey. He accepted an offer of appointment to Union Theological Seminar to teach as Professor of Hebrew and the cognate languages in 1874. William Adams Brown, a student of Briggs and a future colleague, described him as a “walking encyclopedia, combining an essentially conservative theology with a critical scholarship.” Ruth Tonkiss Cameron, 2014; Brigette C. Kamsler, 11/11/15 UTS1: Charles Augustus Briggs Papers, 1841 – 1913 3 The Modernism movement challenged the traditional and historic religious beliefs of denominations across the religious spectrum in the second half of the 19th Century. The Biblical criticism theories that emanated from German theological seminaries at the same time also drew religious groups into the turmoil. In 1883 Briggs wrote Biblical Study: Its Principles, Methods and History: a collection of previously published articles discussing biblical criticism. In 1885, he published American Presbyterianism: Its Origins and Early History, challenging the traditional assumptions staunchly held by the Presbyterian Church in light of the Biblical criticism debate. He hoped to convey to his Presbyterian denomination that it was possible to investigate these new Biblical studies, be open to their conclusions, and not compromise their stance as faithful evangelical Presbyterians. The tools and the work of biblical criticism were not antithetical to theology, Briggs argued. They searched for a fuller understanding of the Bible and “need not be feared.” In 1890 Briggs became the first incumbent of the Edward Robinson Chair of Biblical Theology at Union Theological Seminary. His inaugural address on January 20th 1891 entitled “The Authority of Holy Scripture” informed and inflamed both sides of the modernism and biblical criticism debates with its outspokenness and force. Criticism is at work with knife and fire…. Let us cut down everything that is dead and harmful; every kind of dead orthodoxy, every species of effete ecclesiasticism, all those dry and brittle fences that constitute denominationalism, and are the barriers to Christian unity. Let us remove every encumbrance out of the way for a new life; the life of God is moving throughout Christendom, and the springtime of a new age is about to come upon us. In 1892 the Presbyterian Church charged Briggs with heresy and put him on trial. Briggs spoke in his own defense in four sessions and provided thorough examinations of all charges. Briggs was acquitted of the charges. The Committee on Prosecution then appealed to the General assembly meeting in Washington in 1893 and that appeal trial suspended him from the office of Presbyterian minister until he gave “satisfactory evidence of repentance.” In order to avoid schism within the Presbyterian church Briggs continued as Presbyterian, preaching as a layman within the church for a further 5 years, before enacting his earlier plan to join the Episcopal Church. He was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1899. Briggs continued teaching and writing, and with co-writers Francis Brown and S.R. Driver, prepared the Hebrew and English Lexicon, thoroughly revised from earlier versions and commonly known by the initials BDB. It was published in 1905 and remains the gold standard for Hebrew studies in theological seminaries. It is worth noting that his daughter, Emilie Grace Briggs, made significant contributions as her father’s amanuensis. She was the first woman to graduate from Union Theological Seminary and the first to obtain the Bachelor of Divinity in 1897. After Briggs’ death in 1913, Emilie worked to complete and publish posthumously her father’s unfinished works. She assumed the role of curator, spending many years organizing and preserving her father’s sermons and correspondence with the intention of producing a biography of her father. Ruth Tonkiss Cameron, 2014; Brigette C. Kamsler, 11/11/15 UTS1: Charles Augustus Briggs Papers, 1841 – 1913 4 Briggs received honorary degrees of Doctor of Divinity from the College of New Jersey (1875), University of Edinburgh (1884), Williams College (1894), University of Glasgow (1901), and the D. Litt. from Oxford University also in 1901. Charles Augustus Briggs died on June 8th 1913 as a result of pneumonia, which to the distress of his family had been mistakenly diagnosed as “brain fever.” Sources From the collection itself and: Charles Augustus Briggs Henry Preserved Smith, American Journal of Theology , Vol. 17, No. 4 (Oct., 1913), pp. 497- 508. Published by: The University of Chicago Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3154859 Accessed January 31st 2013 Charles Briggs entry in American National Bibliography online http://www.anb.org/articles/08/08-00178.html?a=1&n=Charles%20Briggs&ia=-at&ib=- bib&d=10&ss=0&q=1 Accessed January 31st 2013 Collection Scope and Content Note This collection consists of correspondence, writings, personal documents, and heresy trial documents as well as photographs and memorabilia formerly created by or belonging to Charles A. Briggs. Much of the collection is in the handwriting of Emilie Grace Briggs through her role as amanuensis for her father. Charles Briggs’ academic as well as pastoral life is represented by sermons, published research material, notes and research aids, bibliographic notes, and work notes for the Hebrew-English Lexicon revision. Detailed and substantial material related to Briggs’ heresy trial proceedings in the Presbyterian Church from 1891-1893 can be consulted here. The collection is organized in 5 series: Series 1: Correspondence, 1875-1913 (2 boxes, 12 horizontal boxes, 13.00 lin. ft.) This series contains all of Briggs’s personal correspondence, both loose-leaf and transcriptions of letters within a series of bound ledgers prepared and arranged by Emilie Briggs. Subseries 1A: Loose-leaf Correspondence, 1875-1913 (2 boxes, 1.00 lin. ft.) This subseries consists of the remaining loose-leaf correspondence received by Briggs, arranged alphabetically by correspondents’ name.